News and Updates 2018

The conference ‘25 years of Barents cooperation – youth perspective for the future’ will bring together some 150 participants from governments, counties and local administrations, young people and experts. The objective is to put the youth perspective at the heart of discussions and explore opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the Barents region.

Swedish Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström will host the conference, which will be arranged by the Swedish Chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in cooperation with Norrbotten County.

“We believe it is vital to listen to young people and to encourage them to play an active part in the development of our societies and in the future of the Barents region,” says Ms Ekström.

The conference marks 25 years of fruitful collaboration in the Barents region. This cooperation was launched in 1993 by the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the EU. The aim of this cooperation is to promote peace, stability and regional development. It is based on people-to-people contacts and carried out in consensus and a spirit of cooperation at national, regional and local level.

The priorities of the Swedish Chairmanship 2017–2019 are sustainable development, respect for human rights and gender equality, and are being pursued through practical, project-oriented cooperation and by enhancing people-to-people contacts, with a special focus on the younger generation.